>>. >> people are welcome to their opinions. that's what the world is about. if they, if they need to feel this way it is theirs to hold. not ours. >> courtney, congratulations on this new step toward proving all of the doubters wrong. i have a feeling great things are ahead in your career. hoping. rick santorum has a big night, but does he have the resources to win the nomination? well, the man bank rolling his campaign out front tonight. and president obama finding himself in the middle of a fire storm. did the administration cross the line on birth control? >> and the war machine behind the syrian massacre. who is providing all of the weapons? we know. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm erin burnett and "outfront" tonight, the single best day of fund raising.

that's what the pro santorum super pac red white and blue just told "outfront" about its cash raising today. the donations pouring in for the candidate who exceeded frankly everybody's expectations last night beating mitt romney in a three-state sweep. santorum met with potential donors in texas today and he's actually headed to california to meet even more potential deep pocketed donors. he's not stopping there. he just sent out another e-mail asking for money. here's what it says, we have it. quote reagan got on a roll winning in north carolina and a slew of states after that, the conservative base rallied to him despite all odds. he went all the way to the convention. clearly, rick santorum feeling pretty good. >> we're doing really well and we feel like going forward, we're going to have the money we need to make the case we want to make. >> okay, making the case though and winning are two very different things. former pennsylvania senator is lagging behind his rivals when

it comes to something crucial. whether you like it or not, money matters and the latest filings show that santorum's major super pac was outraised by mitt romney. look at that. wow. cash raised, 41-1. probably won't stop there. because we've been following the money going through the donor list and today, we learned a few things. this among them. romney has the backing of 17 american billionaires. gingrich for his part has the backing of two. we've told you how important that can be for sheldon adelson, $10 million is equivalent to about $45 for the average american. it's looking a bit like a david and goliath story. does santorum have a chance? absolutely yes says his money man, foster freeze. there's foster freeze standing behind santorum giving his victory speech in missouri. and here he is again in iowa right after santorum's surprising win there.

but who is this foster freeze? >> well, he's a born again christian, supporter of conservative christian causes. santorum's biggest bankroller, so far, fundinging half of the super pac. he has very deep pockets. -- we had an analysis and apparently, wyoming based manager is worth $530 million. he came "outfront" tonight and told me he's known rick santorum for 16 years. i asked him why he is convinced the former senator can win now. >> so, the reason i think he's winnable because if you call up central casting and say we have to have someone run against this dynamic 50-year-old obama president, here you've got a guy 53 years old, starting each morning with 90 push-ups. the grandson of a coal miner. he's been able to win in blue collar areas where he had more democratic voters registered against him, so the likability, in 70%, 60% likability or

personal faveerability, i guess is the term, he's just a great, multifaceted candidate. he has all three leg of the reagan stool. >> so, are you -- how much money have you given him so far? i know you've given him more than half of his pac, ability $300,000. how much have you given him since then and are you going to pour money in? >> i have added more money. i've got to keep this low profile. there's a good chance my wife is watching. i could get in big trouble. it will come out in february. you'll see the results in february. >> but you are continuing to put more in. that's the bottom line. >> i have put some in. about ten days ago, the week ago. i'm very grateful for that opportunity. it's not so much that i'm a friend of his or believe in his policies because we have some disagreements, but i think he's the best person to win because of his dynamic personality, the fact that he authored the welfare reform act when he was

like 42 years old and he was elected to the third most responsible position in the u.s. senate as a young guy when all of the older senators revered him. if you talk to the guys in the senate, they think he's a pretty special guy. >> so, how important is religion and social issues to you in your making your decision of who to give to? i ask this because you've given a lot to social causes over the years, you're identified as being a born again christian, is that an important part of why you have chosen rick santorum? >> i think if you look at the united states 83% christian and how important these christian values are. truman said in 1946 in the two centuries since jesus spoken his words have been validated and here in the united states have been shown the fundamental unity between christianity and democracy. that wasn't considered a theocerousy.

there's been an attack on christianity. people don't realize how important those values are to the underpinning of the country. the constitution is the how. the declaration of independence is the why. what keeps us together, the top wealthy people, middle class and poor people, we're americans. what makes us americans is that we are endowed by our creator, not government. >> last night, i saw you standing there behind rick santorum when he made his victory speech. and it was pretty interesting. is that foster friess and indeed, it was you. i know you've known him for a long time and you're friendly with him, but as a donor to a super pac, there's rules that say you can't work together. you can't coordinate. and there you are standing next to him and i'm wondering if you think that was appropriate that you continue to spend so much time with him or maybe you think

it's just transparent. >> well, by the way, how did i look? did i look excited and fun? >> to be honest, i think you're wearing the same tie. >> now, the answer to that is so simple. basically, our lawyers have told us it's simple. just don't talk about the super pac, so the fact there is a super pac is irrelevant to all of the other campaign people, and by not talking about it is fine. plus, i have so little control over the super pac, all i did was write a check. newt came up to me the other day and made some remark to me i said, i don't see the ads. i'm not a hands on guy. i like writing a check and then turn it over to the guys who make it happen. >> so you don't say, you have given about half the money, so we would think you would have influence on how they spend it. even if you're not talking about the super pac, you could say, this is a good idea, or that. none of that happens? >> no. i'm not allowed to coordinate

any of the super pac and it's pretty cut and dry. just don't talk about the super pac. >> and final question. if rick santorum does not become the nominee, will you give to mitt romney? and does he fulfill the conservative christian values that are so important to you? >> well, first of all, someone asked me my favorite choice for vp and i said mitt romney, so that will give you an idea that i'd gladly support him and i'd also support newt. i saw him and met calista for the first time. lovely people. we're so blessed. ran into michele bachmann in the studio. when you think about the lovely, lovely, honest and integrity packed people that we have running, it's really a blessing to grow up in america and i tease rick, rick, if you make it, you've got to promise me to do a favor and invite herman cain to the oval office, say herman, here's the keys to air force one and you go around selling america. everyone has a talent to contribute and certainly, herman

would be a wonderful spokesperson for the country as he went around the world. >> somehow i got the image of some kind of a movie that could be done on that. one more question about -- you. i'm just reading a couple of articles about you. eccentric republican billionaire, republican billionaire. i know it's probably not something you want to talk about, but when we looked at the numbers, it doesn't appear you're a billionaire. can you clear this up and say why it's so secretive? >> well, this is a very interesting question. the press somehow, a few months back, someone called me a billionaire. my wife said, you're not squirrelling money away, are you? i want to clear that up. so they said how do you want to be introduced? i said how about billionaire want to be? >> thank you very much. appreciate you taking the time. >> it's been a delight to be with you and god bless your family and your health and have

a great year. >> you, too. what's keeping gop voters at home during the primaries and the role of evangelicals? something interesting in those numbers. the bottom line coming up. and president obama in the middle of an absolute fire fight. did he go too far on birth control? >> and tonight, more dead in syria. the situation escalating. we have a look at where the weapons being used right now are coming from. who is bankrolling the government's weapons? >> and does alcohol excuse murder? americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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is an attack on religious freedom or essential health care for women? this is the debate surrounding president obama's health care law. it requires all employers including those with religious affiliations to provide health insurance which covers the cost of birth control. john boehner calls the plan unconstitutional. >> this rule would require faith-based employers, including catholic charities, schools, universities and hospitals, to

provide services they believe are immoral. >> but the white house says the law has nothing to do with religious beliefs, pointing out that churches, synagogues and other houses of worship are exempt. they're also trying to work out what they say is an acceptable solution for these institutions like religious universities and hospitals by giving them until august 2013 to implement the plan. >> we want to work with all of the organizations to implement the policy in a way that is as sensitive to their concerns as possible. but let's be clear, we are committed, the president is committed, to ensuring that women have access to contraception without paying extra costs, no matter where they work. >> currently, there are 28 states that have some form of mandatory contraceptive insurance coverage and a poll shows that 58% of catholics agree birth control should be covered. the former lieutenant governor of maryland on the board of democrats, ralph brk rie on the

chairman of the faith and freedom coalition. great to have you with us. i really appreciate it. both sides represented. a new poll that came out yesterday shows this. 55% of americans agree that employers should be required to provide employees with health care plans that cover birth control at no cost. why do you think this is right? that birth control should be included and this is the crucial caveat, at no cost? >> it's right because it's about women's health and what the studies have shown and ama and college of obstetrics have supported this, they say by getting contraceptive, it helps to reduce ovarian cancer, to reduce endometriosis, ovarian cysts. it helps women to be healthier and if our goal, which i think is the goal of the health care plan is to make sure that women get the best health care they can, it means they need

contraceptive care. >> ralph, how do you respond and why should religious hospitals or others be able to deny that to women? >> here's the problem. what the obama administration's directive requires is that religious institutions that are caring for the moor, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are going to have to choose between violating their conscience and providing health insurance to their employees. that is ridiculous. 90% of the homeless shelters in america are run by houses of worship, churches or synagogues. one out of over ten americans who is below the poverty level is a client of catholic charities. the baltimore archdiocese alone is turching 160,000 people a year and providing 300,000 hot meals to people who would otherwise go hungry. and what they're saying is it's okay for you to not include things that are morally

repugnant or violate your conscience if you're only serving the members of your church, but if you go out and help people who may not be members of your church, then you have to cover this. so, think how absurd that is. if a church or another house of worship goes out and helps people without regard to their theology or their socioeconomic status or their gender or anything else, that's when they have to violate their own conscience. it's ridiculous. >> first of all, as you saw, most catholics, a vast majority of catholics support this. so, many, many catholics who work in catholic charities actually support this. i think that's really important to understand that they do support this. >> they don't take a poll on religious liberty. >> i'm just telling you. you're saying catholics don't support this. catholics do support this. a, number two, the way to help people who are in poverty is to make sure they have contraceptive care.

that's critical for them. it means they don't have the diseases that i just described and that they get to use their own conscience to decide what is right for them. this is a issue of women's health and i think that catholic charities believes very deeply that it's important that women get the health care they need. that's what this is about and that's why it's so critically important to women and women whether you can afford it or not, this will make sure that all women will have that opportunity. it's really exciting and as you saw, 28 states already do this. where was the outcry then? 28 states have already required this kind of rule. >> first of all, a number of those states provide much broader exemptions. to religious organizations. secondly, it shows either ignorance, insensitivity or outright hostility to tell religious organizations look i'm

on the board of an inner city ministry in atlanta called safe house. they touch hundreds of thousands of people a year. the federal government is telling people they have to provide to their employees, think about this for a minute, a border -- that cause abortion, which they consider to be the taking of an innocent human life. the federal government should never go into the walled garden of a house of worship and tell them they have to provide something that takes an innocent human life. >> kind of a broad question. if birth control prevents someone from getting pregnant who doesn't want to be pregnant and prevents them from having an abortion, from a religious perspective, isn't that better to use the birth control and to not than to have the abortion? >> sure. that's not the issue. the issue isn't whether or not people are going to have access to contraception. the issue here is -- >> who pays for it. >> or religious institution, all they had to do was do what barack obama told the catholic

bishops he would do in the oval office was provide them with an exception and part of the reason why this thing has exploded like a mushroom cloud is because the hhs directive was totally contrary to the repeated assurance that the president of the united states gave to the catholic bishops. one out of every six patients in america is in a catholic hospital. this is going to wreak havoc on the health care system. >> thank you to both of you -- >> excuse me, can i just say -- many catholic hospitals and institutions already provide contraceptive care. it hasn't been publicized until now, but they do it. they're able to do it because it fits their conscience. there's a disagreement in the catholic church about contraception as you know and i think what obama administration has done wonderfully is say we're going to protect women. we're going to help women's health. >> okay. thank you very much to both of

you. obviously an issue you're passionate about. and a lot of others are. please go on twitter and let us know what you think about this issue and still on "outfront," a father killing himself and his two sons. we have the 911 call made moments before the murders and we focus in on the social worker. and america striking a blow against china. [ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk.

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so america scored a goal against china today. carlyle companies is an american manufacturer with 3.2 billion in sales and is going to make tires in america again. bringing the production home from china, for real. david roberts is a member of our strike team and says quote we plan to bring work back from china and put it in both tennessee plants. we found we can manufacture as cheaply or cheaper here in the united states than we can in china. surprised? probably are because for years, we've heard once manufacturing jobs leave the country, they don't come back. but his new plant in jackson, tennessee, is up and running and they're going to add 75 new american jobs on top of the 500

they added when they opened the factory in 2010. that brings us to tonight's number. $1.35. for every dollar invested in manufacturing in america, 1.35 is generated in the economy. according to the national association of manufacturing, for every manufacturing job, you get three jobs in other industries. that new plant like carlyle, then the men and women who work there eat at restaurants, go to the store and buy their tires. small numbers that might add up for the world's american superpower. still "outfront," the "outfront 5." russia's role. asaad is off the reservation. he is being armed and supported by russia. >> drunk as a defense. >> the prosecution says this was a premeditated intentional murder. >> all this "outfront" in our second half. i wouldn't do that. get married?

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start the second half of our show with stories we care about, we focus in our own reporting, do the work and find the "out front 5." first tonight, the single best day of fund-raising for the pro santorum super pac. they spoke to "outfront" today and said it's been a big day. donations pouring in. obviously the candidate beating romney last night. his biggest bankroller is a guy named foster friess. he came "outfront." there he is at the victer's speech. alone, he has funded about half

of the santorum super pac. i asked him if he was violating laws by spending so much close time with the candidate. >> basically, our lawyers have told us it's very, very simple. just don't talk about the super pac, so the fact there is a super pac is irrelevant to the other campaign people and by not talking is fine. plus, i have so little control over the super pac, all's i did is write a check. newt came up with other day and made a remark about one of the ads. i said, i don't see the ads. i'm not the hands on guy. i like writing a check then turn it over to the guys that make it happen. >> number two. could iran be on a verge of a protest like those in libya and egypt? an expert told "outfront" quote the combination of regional dynamics and a desperate economic situation at home has emboldened the iranians to demand a regime change. the first victim could be the ailing supreme leader. iran's parliament has summoned

ahminedjad for questioning on the nation's economy. nothing like this has happened since iran's revolution in 1979. ahmadinejad haas had to take away a lot of the subsidies iranians rely on for things like food because of the sanctions pressure. three. magazine sales dropped last year. people are spending less, at least on magazines, the hard copy kind. we looked through a report from the audit bureau of circulations. magazines aimed at women made the top seven spots. that will surprise nobody that goes into a bookstore or magazine store, however, oprah's magazine saw a big decline. 32% drop. over the past six months. that's right around the time the television show ended. the worst selling issue was october when she shared the cover with rosie o'donnell. something to learn. don't share the cover. wow. check that one out. number four, cisco, the maker of computer networking computer

reported quarterly results tonight. they were better than expected. this is a big global company, and they said their quarterly dividend is going up. john chambers is a member of our strike team on "outfront" and told investors he expects the company will do more deals in the coming quarters. it has been 187 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? part of the reason we were downgraded was of the negative discourse in washington. the pessimism has led to a record low approval rating. it's kind of amazing it has gotten lower. the new poll shows only 10% of americans approve of the job congress is doing. it was 11% a month before. now to the brutal crackdown in syria. the images there are stunning. four straight days of bombing, killing at least 60 in homs alone. adding to the death toll of more than 6,000 according to human rights groups that have happened since the uprising began in march. while washington has been condemning the assault although

not doing anything militarily, russia has not and today announced that the syrian vice president might be open to talks with the opposition. russians believe the crisis should be revolved diplomatically and say it is not the international community's business to determine the outcome of dialogue in advance. the president of syria has virtually no allies left. even in the region. china and russia are the exception. they don't just stand by him, they arm him. here are the numbers. between 2007 and 2010, russia gave $4.7 billion in weapons to syria. china, a distant second, only $300 million in arms deals. now, russia also signed a half a billion dollar deal to sell fighter jets to syria. they already have 555 russian made planes like the ones you're looking at there. an air force of 100,000 people for syria. and when russia's navy needs a

port in the middle east, in syria. russia's $4.7 billion has helped make syria a military power house in a regional arms race. a ground force of 220,000 plus another 108,000 in paramilitary troops. syria has about 5,000 tanks including the t' 72 shown here, which has a 125 millimeter gun and a range of 6,000 feet. tonight, the russian syrian connection. so much to moscow, national security contributor fran townsend and daniel friedman. good to have both of you with us. we appreciate it. should it surprise us, first of all, just how important russia is, bank rolling the syrian military, but how big the syrian military is and how much fire power it has. >> we haven't even gotten to the economic relationship. let's remember russia forgave three quarters of the debt they held to the tune of $10 billion of syrian debt and they have a huge trade and infrastructure relationship that is in the

billions of dollars. this is a strategic partner for russia. the port that you mentioned where they're leasing, this goes back to the 1970s. that port now under new agreement that al asaad signed with russia allows them to bring their nuclear war ships in there once it's finished being dredged and renovated. so this is a strategic point for russia because it allows them to have ships on the mediterranean, where otherwise nato is patrolling. >> this is why we have the unwavering support of russia for the syrian regime. >> it's even bigger than that. behind the historical support and the port, russia's brought in national security guards. russia is worried, what happens next if syria falls? what's likely is the stands, uzbekistan, those countries on russia's border, those are likely to be next. >> in terms of autocratic

regimes toppling. >> that's the last thing russia wants. it's drawing the line in the sand on syria. >> and you have unrest in russia itself, an election that appears to be contested by a guy who has ruled without any dissent for a decade. vladimir putin. >> that's exactly right. he wants to make it clear russia's policy is there should be no foreign intervention in domestic affairs. because of course, what he doesn't want is the international community to turn their attention to russian protests. >> let's just be honest here, daniel. i think a lot of the perception is that al assad is going to go. for a while, they thought he would stay, then go. but you think he could stay? >> i think it's likely, he will stay, especially if russia and china maintain their support. he's got a very powerful military. it's a different situation to libya or elsewhere. the rest of the town, they're on the borders with jordan, turkey,

within the center of syria itself where there is quite a and he's got a sudden ruthlessness where he's willing to do whatever it takes to survive, much like his father did, who was willing to massacre 25,000 plus people. and we see what happened to gadhafi and mubarak. it's not just about him and his family. his tribe, his religion is likely to be targets. >> now, can we count on the military? you have the free syrian army and questions as to the loyalty of troops or how long that will last. can he count on them? it may have surprised many tonight, you have hundreds of thousands of people serving in the forces in syria. >> but it's dominated by his family and tribe. and also, he's been very strategic in other minorities who would likely be victims as well if the muslim brotherhood or opposition takes over, which is why as the rebellion started,

he replaced his defense minister with a christian defense minister saying minority is christians, you're safe with me, just be careful what happens next. >> i'm just curious when the united states says as they said this week and maybe for political posturing, i'm going to investigate military options. not that i'm going to do them, but i have plans. does the fact that russia has $5 billion of deals with syria and that china isn't backing off actually make military involvement by the united states a very different situation than it would have been in libya? >> that's right and it's different. first and foremost because of the capability that you mentioned, that syria has bought from russia. this is not libya with an antiquated air defense system. this is a real military with real capability that they know how to use, so if you were to bring in an air strike or implement a no fly zone, you must expect you're going to lose aircraft and in areas, it's

going to be an absolutely different situation. and it's going to be much more bloody. we can talk about having a military option, but it's very difficult to do that if the united states, is it nato. what we need to do, look at using our arab allies. the kingdom of saudi arabia sells oil to china, they also buy russian military equipment. they have leverage over those countries and we need to use our alleys to try and change the positions. >> it would be amazing if saudi arabia stepped up. thanks very much to both of you. appreciate you taking the time. pretty amazing for that syrian military. why are republicans staying home? we've got the mystery next and a shocking, drunken defense. does alcohol excuse murder? ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be.

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domestwill be giving away enerpassafree copieslives... of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. until last night, the majority of people who have voted in a primary or caucus said they were not evangelical or born again christians. 57% of them said no. but something changed yesterday. just look at minnesota alone. all of the counties in green are the ones rick santorum won and our john king who knows everything about every county in america i think notes that they are also the counties with high evangelical populations. very clear evangelicals were very motivated. turnout in minnesota, the real

standout so far this primary season. so why? why the evangelicals come out and how powerful is this voting block in the 2012 election? john avlon is with us, along with richard land. president of the southern baptist convention. great to have you with us. we appreciate it. i guess let me start with you, john avlon. this was a real shift. >> it was. it was absolutely and it was a shift that had been long promised. you know, evangelical leaders rallied around rick santorum in the lead up to south carolina, but the evangelical voters in that high turnout primary ended up supporting newt gingrich, not rick santorum. you saw a decided shift last night with these midwest caucus states in particular rallying around rick santorum big time, delivering him three upset wins. so it really is a game changer in terms of this republican primary field. mitt romney looking weak by comparison. >> when you talk about the enthusiasm gap. which you have been talking about for a long time, john.

richard, why suddenly did we see this surge? in evangelicals. was this backlash against not wanting mitt romney, not perhaps wanting a mormon and wanting someone like a rick santorum? >> i think it was a combination of factors. remember in iowa, which started it all, 58% of the the people who attended the caucuses identified themselves as born again evangelicals and half of those described themselves as very conservative. and they voted 32% for santorum with 14% for gingrich and 14% for romney. so, this was more a return to iowa with non southern evangelicals and i think you have, you can't discount the fact that in south carolina and in florida, that newt gingrich won more because he was from georgia than that he was an evangelical and now, you move back into non southern states

and santorum has returned to his iowa form. plus, that meeting i attended in texas, i don't endorse candidates, but i was there and they formed a strong consensus. the social conservative catholic and evangelical groups behind santorum. and i said after the south carolina primary, these are national grass roots organizations, they're going to go home, they're going to plant seeds and the grass is going to grow. well, we saw the grass growing last night. >> it sure did. it was positive ready for harvest it was so high. but john avlon, is there something to talk about here on this mormon question for mitt romney? is that something that it all becomes relevant again? >> i don't think mitt romney's religion makes a difference in the vast majority of states. i really don't. i think it's more of a credibility gap because he seems like the opposite of a conviction politician. the question is how much that extends to consistency in his

political beliefs. i think when you speak to a lot of social conservative voters, that's the question. who is mitt romney? the guy who ran for governor in 2002 in massachusetts or the guy running for president over the last four plus years. >> does this come down to social issues? it's interesting how you point out and fairly so that you had a much higher percentage of evangelicals in iowa than new hampshire. new hampshire brings down the average on that. but you did see in a lot of places the economy by far the most important issue trumping abortion. >> well, the the economy's very important. when the economy's as bad as it is, it's going to be very important and there again, i think rick santorum has a message that appeals to blue collar, those reagan democrats. a very appealing message in the former rust belt states like michigan and pennsylvania and ohio. what blue collar, trickle down from the blue collar is what "wall street journal" called it. where you have a tax break for manufacturing jobs, for parents. "wall street journal" criticized

him because he played favorites with parents. well, good. parents are doing a more important job for the next generation than a bachelor arbitrage lawyer is. >> all right. thanks very much to both of you. we appreciate it. a perfect storm. terrible, terrible coincidences. not murder that led to the may 2010 death of a 22-year-old lacrosse player. a drunken accident is what attornes for george hughley argued in court today. that was opening statements. prosecutors say he kicked down his ex-girlfriends door, banged her head across the wall, left her bleeding, two days after he sent her threatening e-mails. he's pled not guilty to first degree murder. great to see both of you. we appreciate it. we have e-mails that i want to

put up back and forth between yeardley and george, saying i should have killed you last night, her saying, you should have killed me? there it is right there, and he says, we should talk tonight. they talked a up canal days later, and she died. doesn't that establish intent? >> no, it doesn't. prosecutors are trying to put on the board that this is intent to kill and it's clearly laid out, premeditation. what it establishes is a contemptious, tem pestuous relationship between the time-out people, and prosecutors are going to have a hard time saying that proves an intent to kill. >> she was bruised, beaten, door kicked down. does that? >> i disagree with you, paul. i love you, but bottom line is we have an e-mail that said i should have killed you, and he carries through with that and he killed her. the prosecution has a strong case for premeditated murder.

they have charged premeditated murder, charged felony murder, charged burglary, but they're going to prove it. >> they have way overcharged the case. >> we have come up with a lot of rape cases lately. can alcohol ever take away intent? is that something he can use at a krurch? >> i don't see the alcohol defense as key here. what they're putting on the board is these were college kids who had a relationship that went back and forth. they fought with each other. and this was a fight that took place, but it was an accidental death. >> i think involuntary intoxication is their only defense for the premeditation. it's not going to excuse the criminal conduct, but it can take premeditation off the table. that's what they have to go for. if they get a conviction on premeditated murder, we're talking about life in prison. they were only 22 years old when it happened. >> 10 years for voluntary manslaughter.

you know, but the thing i'm left with, you know, on this issue is in terms of the actual killing itself, here's a big, strong lacrosse player, if he wanted to kill her, he would have killed her. he wouldn't have left her breathing when he left the room. >> but he did kill her. >> he did, but he didn't know he did. so it was an accident. that's what the defense says. >> we're going to keep talking about this. let us know what you think. alcohol as a defense, 10 years or life in prison. what do you think? >> a desperate 911 call placed moments before a murder/suicide. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms.

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every week, a social worker drives children to see their father. supervises the visit, takes note, files a report. tries to do what is best for those most vulnerable. with more than half a million children in some fort of foster care in america, this scenario plays out thousands of times a day. and it's a huge responsibility for the people who are hired to be, quote, visit supervisors. elizabeth hall was hired to supervise them as they visited with their father, josh powell. she took her responsibility seriously, and for months, everything was fine until this. >> i'm on a supervised visitation for a court ordered

visit, and something really weird has happened. the kids wnt into the house and this parent, the biological parent, his name is josh powell, will not let me in the door. what should i do? >> what's the address? >> i think i need help right away. he's on a very short leash with dshs and cps has been involved, and this was the craziest thing. he looked right at me and closed the door. are you there? >> i'm waiting to know where you are. >> okay. and i'd like to pull out of the driveway because i smell gasoline and he won't let me in. >> you want to pull out of the driveway because you smell gasoline and he won't let you -- >> he won't let me in. >> as you know, this ended horrifically. moments later, he detonated an explosion that killed himself, braden, and charles. a spokesman said authorities had

no evidence that he was a danger to the children or himself. that was a claim repeated by ed troyer at a press conference today. there will be investigations and finger pointed, but it seems like everyone did everything that was required of them under the law and everything that felt right. and it got us thinking about a broader issue. across america, counties have been forced to make tough decisions and make very deep cuts. services like foster care and emergency dispatch are often hit first and hardest. lower budgets lead to longer hours and larger case loads for the workers. social worker is one of the jobs like police that we rarely hear about until something has gone horribly wrong. there are so many social workers who are trying to to the right thing, and they do it with compassion and with love, and when something goes wrong, it's their lives that are ruined, too. elizabeth hall supervised visits every sunday for month.